''Search'' () is a South Korean television series starring

Jang Dong-yoon Jang Dong-yoon (born July 12, 1992) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the popular television series ''School 2017'' (2017), ''The Tale of Nokdu'' (2019), and ''Search'' (2020). Early life After finishing high ...

Krystal Jung Chrystal Soo Jung (born October 24, 1994), professionally known as Krystal, Krystal Jung or Jung Soo-jung (), is a Korean-American singer and actress based in South Korea. She debuted in 2009 as a member of the South Korean girl group f(x) and ...

Moon Jeong-hee Moon Jeong-hee (born January 12, 1976) is a South Korean stage, film, and television actress. She has won Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' Deranged'' (2012) and Best Supporting Actress award in Buil F ...

Yoon Park Yoon Park (born November 18, 1987) is a South Korean actor. Career Yoon began his entertainment career as a drummer for the band Can't Play Well (), which won the Bronze Prize at the 34th MBC Campus Song Festival in 2010. When his contract with ...

and

Lee Hyun-wook Lee Hyun-wook (born June 17, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Hell Is Other People'' (2019), ''Mine'' (2021) and ''Remarriage & Desires'' (2022). Early life and education Lee Hyun-wook be ...

. It follows the story of the ruthless attack of an unknown creature in the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...

, and the search operation of elite special force to uncover the truth. It aired on OCN from October 17 to November 15, 2020, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 ( KST). The series is available for streaming with multi-languages subtitles on iQIYI in South East Asia, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Synopsis

''Search'' is a military thriller drama which takes place in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and tells the story of a specialized search party that forms to uncover the truth behind mysterious disappearance and murder cases.

Cast and characters

Main

as Yong Dong-jin : Yong Dong-jin is a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and special

military dog Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military ...

handler who follows the traces of the enemy. He was selected as the first soldier of the army's elite warrior in the search battalion, and is currently waiting for the date of his discharge. Before receiving the national call, he also had a history of volunteering abroad at a Korean-American animal protection group on the veterinary road. When it is decided to send a reconnaissance and pursuit dog to the Choi Jeong-ye special lease, he joins the search team as the youngest member. He is in charge of Korea's best military dog. *

as Son Ye-rim :

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

Son Ye-rim is a senior lieutenant and an elite officer from the Women's University School Corps, and is currently an officer at the KCST Command Center. As a school district candidate, she ranked first in the appointment grade with her superior skills. She was the first to be put into service when a situation occurred in the DMZ GP. At the special assignment, where she joins as a special officer, she meets her ex-boyfriend Yong Dong-jin again. *

as Kim Da-jeong : Kim Da-jeong is a special officer who protects the DMZ. She is the former Team Leader of the Special Forces' 709 Special Squadron Women's Company anti-terrorism unit and is currently the contract commentator at the DMZ Memorial Hall. She has a husband and a daughter, and they live together in Chengong-ri, the only civilian-occupied village within the DMZ. However, when an incident occurs near the DMZ, Da-jeong was keen to protect her family and the villagers. *

as Song Min-gyu : Captain Song Min-gyu is Hwasaeng Defense Command's best elite officer with full specs. He was scheduled to be appointed as an operation officer at the headquarters of the Army after passing the rank of major with the highest rating, but becoming a military prosecutor suspect who is caught in an unsavory case and undergoes military trial. On the way of life and death, Song is selected as the leader of the North Star and gets the last chance. To get out of the crisis, he must succeed in this operation, but he has another reason to return to the demilitarized zone. *

as Lee Joon-sung : First Lieutenant Lee Joon-sung is affiliated with a commando regiment that conducts special warfare directly under the command corps. While attending university, he was transferred to the military academy and received the Presidential Award. A case breaks out in the DMZ, and he is selected as the deputy team leader of the special mission team. He unites the special lease into one with his unique gentle leadership, but engages in a subtle nervous war with Captain Song, who focuses only on the success of the operation.

Supporting

Special Polaris Mission Unit * Lee Ha-yul as Park Ki-hyung : Sergeant First Class Park Ki-hyung is an active duty sergeant who has is the third generation soldier in his family. He was supposed to get married but was assigned to the operation in the DMZ as a sniper. * Choi Yoon-je as Staff Sergeant Ju Moon-chul 1997 Operation of the DMZ * Yoo Sung-joo as Lee Hyuk : Chairman of the National Defense Commission and National Assemblyman. He is running for the presidential elections. * Choi Deok-moon as Han Dae-sik : Han Dae-sik is the Commander of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea. He has risen to the present position by surviving a gunfight with the North Korean military in the DMZ in 1997, but suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the shock of that accident. When a situation arises in the DMZ, he instructs Captain Song on a secret mission. *

Yeon Woo-jin Yeon or less commonly Youn (연) is a Korean surname. The name may correspond to the Chinese surnames Yan (燕, 延) or Lian (連). The hanja 延 is much more common than 燕 and 連. Yeon may also refer to the extinct surname (淵). Origin ...

as Captain Jo Min-gook : Commander of the 1997 Search Operation in the DMZ. Chengong-ri village people *

Lee Soon-won Yi Sunwon (; born 1957) is a modern South Korean writer who writes about diverse topics. Life Yi Sunwon was born in Gangneung on the coast of the Sea of Japan in 1957. While in high school, Yi decided to become a farmer. In a dramatic display ...

as Chun Min-jae, Da-jeong's husband and Su-yeong's father. * Park Da-yeon as Chun Su-yeong, Da-jeong and Min-jae's 10-year-old daughter. A cheerful girl who is good at running and likes Sergeant Yong Dong-jin very much. * Kim In-woo as Director Baek, the director of Chengong-ri Health Center. *Min Chae-yeon as Nurse Chae Others *

Kim Ho-jung Kim Ho-jung (born March 10, 1968) is a South Korean actress. Kim's portrayal as an ailing wife in Im Kwon-taek's film ''Revivre'' (2015), who is dying of cancer, won her the Best Supporting Actress at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards The Ba ...

as Yong Hee-ra, Yong Dong-jin's mother, she runs a restaurant. * Yoon Young-min as Lab Director Moon Ji-won, researcher at the KCST Command Center.

Production

Development

On October 25, 2019, OCN's marketing chief Choi Kyung-joo announced during the channel's "Thriller House" press conference that ''Search'' would be among the 11 television series which would air in 2020. ''Search'' is the fourth installment of OCN's "Dramatic Cinema" project (which combines film and drama formats), following ''

Trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

'' (2019), ''

Hell Is Other People ''Hell Is Other People'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Im Si-wan and Lee Dong-wook. Based on the Naver WEBTOON webtoon series of the same name by Kim Yong-ki, it is the second series of OCN's "Dramatic Cinema" project w ...

'' (2019) and '' Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation'' (2020). It is also the first project of its newly launched OCN Studio division and South Korea's first military thriller drama set in the

Casting

On November 29, 2019, it was reported that

had been offered the role of Yong Dong-jin. On January 16, 2020,

and her agency

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

confirmed that she would play Son Ye-rim.

officially joined the main cast on January 30. On February 13, OCN confirmed the series' final lineup with the addiction of

and

. The first script reading took place in April 2020.

Filming

The series is entirely pre-produced; filming was completed in August 2020. According to director Lim Dae-woong, actors playing soldiers filmed some scenes with "over 20 kilograms of military gear on" in midsummer. Lim also mentioned that "real newspaper articles and news broadcasts" were sometimes used during filming, and that they "tried to make the clothes and equipment realistic too" though they could not "actually go

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

] to film."

Release

The first teaser, featuring

and

, was released on April 27, 2020. On September 14, OCN released two posters featuring the main cast and the phrase "a fear that no one has ever seen," which announced that the series would premiere on October 17.

Ratings

International broadcast

The series is available on iQIYI with multi-languages subtitles in South East Asia, Taiwan, Hongkong, and Macau.

References

External links

* (in Korean) *
Search
' o
iQIYI
* * {{OCN original series OCN television dramas Korean-language television shows 2020 South Korean television series debuts 2020 South Korean television series endings South Korean military television series South Korean mystery television series South Korean thriller television series Korean Demilitarized Zone in fiction Television series about the Republic of Korea Armed Forces South Korean pre-produced television series